China vs India: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities

China
449.06 million people
in 2024
India
539.97 million people
in 2024
China rank
2nd
India rank
1st

People not using safely managed sanitation facilities over time

  • China
  • India
0250.0M500.0M750.0M1.0B200020122024

How they compare

India currently reports 539.97 million people against 449.06 million people in China, a difference of 90.90 million people.

That makes India's figure about 1.2 times China's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 25 shared years of data; in 2000 it was China ahead.

China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 150 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
150 places, 3,667 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

People not using safely managed sanitation services might practice open defecation, use unimproved sanitation facilities, or use improved facilities that do not safely manage human waste.